Given name & surname
Alessa
“noble”·“kind”·“type”
Alessa is a variant of Alice. Alice’s older Germanic elements mean “noble” and “kind” or “type.” The connection with nobility belongs to the name’s linguistic roots.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Alessa is a variant of Alice. Alice’s older Germanic elements mean “noble” and “kind” or “type.” The connection with nobility belongs to the name’s linguistic roots.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Alessa is a variant of Alice. Alice developed through Old French from Adalheidis, the Germanic name also behind Adelaide.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
Alessa is a variant of Alice. The shared background comes through Alice: The longer Adalheidis was greatly shortened before reaching its Old French form. Alice and Adelaide therefore share an older source, even though they became distinct names.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1970. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Alessa is a variant of Alice. The history of Alice gives this family its wider story. Alice returned to wider use in the nineteenth century. Lewis Carroll’s two Alice stories gave it an enduring literary association; his heroine drew inspiration from Alice Liddell.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Alessa through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,005
- 0 boys · 3,005 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 174 babies
- 2025
- 105
- #1,872 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −13%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 105 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,872 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 13.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 174 in 2016. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (29). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,987 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Alessa’s family of names
In Italian usage, Alessa has a conventional equivalent in the German form Alex. Alessa has a related form in Alice.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Alessa
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Alessa, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Haydi
“a modest woman; one who is well-behaved” · “a capable woman”
>99% girls
Aleeshia
“noble” · “kind”
>99% girls
Kylie
“from the narrow channel”
>99% girls
Aleenah
>99% girls
Dalexa
>99% girls
Aleeyah
>99% girls
Olyssa
“devoted to God”
>99% girls
Alveena
“triend of the elves”
>99% girls